Wrap Up

Well, we've been home for a week, all the laundry is washed, folded and put away, and I've been working on talks for our next cruise (more about that in a paragraph or two) and editing photographs from our just-completed voyage.  I'll include some pix below: the first from Curacao and the others are from Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private estate -- 250 beautiful acres of beaches and trees on the northern coast of Haiti (remember, if you click on the pictures, they will open in a larger version).

Royal Caribbean International leased the site a number of years ago and has been steadily improving it as a private stop for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships.  Some 300-500 local folks are employed to work at the site, all the crafts are made by local artisans -- and the work must be approved by RCCI with no "made in China" labels, and the company gives the governement of Haiti $10 per guest for the nation to use in social services, caring for its people.  Last year 600,000 guests visited.

When Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 Richter scale earthquake in January 2010 (followed by at least 45 "smaller" quakes -- measuring up to 4.5) affecting 3,000,000 people, Royal Caribbean stopped sending cruise ships to Labadee.  A month later, they started sailing again, drawing fire from the New York Times ("Ship of Ghouls") and other critical sources.  Royal Caribbean countered with the fact that hundreds of people, at a very critical time, were depending on their cruise ship stops for their jobs.  The New York Times did not report that RCCI gave Haiti $1 million for relief work (eventually raising the gift to $2.5 million ), nor that the company built 14 temporary schools, 7 temporary kindergartens, and an orphanage, plus two permanent schools, and at least a half dozen fresh water storage facilities.  For years following the earthquake the company sent relief supplies loaded on board by various missionary and relief organizations at no cost to those organizations.  I mentioned those facts in my Labadee talk, and reminded the folks that I am not an employee of RCCI, but I found the corporate sensitivity and desire to help worthy of praise (since except for the Royal Caribbean website, I've found no mention of these gifts and generosity).

Stepping down from my soap box, I will tell you that the weather was beautiful on our stop.  Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao were overly hot and humid (what do you expect in the Southern Caribbean) but Labadee was a mild 78 with fresh tropical breezes blowing.  Bonnie and I wandered around for about three hours -- a shore record for us when not taking an excursion.

This blog will be back around March 16, 2015 when we sail from Fort Lauderdale on the Holland America Line's "Zuiderdam," an Atlantic crossing stopping in Rome on March 31 (with stops on a Portuguese island and three stops in Spain).  We have rented an apartment in Civitavecchia (the port that serves Rome) for five nights to do some exploring, taste the local food, and enjoy Italian culture.

Giving thanks for this, and all of God's blessings, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

TTFN!

Curacao, looking from the Otrabunda

Nellie's Tavern: general store, tavern, and house of ill-repute

The Explorer of the Seas (the wires on the upper right are part of a 1/2 mile long zip line -- we did not zip)

Beach on Labadee (my postcard shot, taken with the camera in my Ghetto Phone)

Our friend Jovana whom we met in October and was glad to see us back.

December 10, 2014

Well, it’s another day at sea, another talk, another formal night.  And tonight is lobster night.  Yum!  Oh what do the simple folk do?

A leisurely day at sea.  I gave my next to last talk at 2 p.m., then we hustled down to get into the standby line for the ice show.  Our regular show was the first sea day when I was doing a talk.  I don’t remember why we didn’t go to the 4 p.m., but we made it today.  It is always such a good show.  The audience was kind of flat, but Bonnie and I were cheering lustily and some folks finally caught on.

They did three lines to get into the show today.  One was for the folks whose turn it was, and they got to go in second.  One was for the Diamond and Diamond Plus members (the local which of which there is no whicher – very frequent cruisers) and they got to go in first.  And the third line was for all the rest of us and we got to go in last.  I did find us two seats in the second row, so we were, well, well-seated.

One member of my audience for my talk today (Space: The Final Frontier) was an engineer who worked on Gemini, Apollo, Sky Lab, and the Shuttle Program.  He introduced himself to me before the talk and afterwards complimented my presentation.

Another member of the audience was Judy Resnick’s cousin.  Judy was one of the astronauts killed when the Shuttle Challenger exploded.

And still another was from Broward County, where Cape Canaveral is.  She told me that the area code for the area is 3-2-1.  For the countdown.

Tomorrow is the private resort, Labadee.  We will go ashore sometime, wander around – there are two historical sights: the old bell tower and Nellie’s place that I want to see and photograph – then stay for the bar-b-que and come back on board.  I may stick a toe into the water, just to check it out.  We’ll see.  We’ll see.

TTFN!

December 9, 2014

We had breakfast in bed this morning – scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, an assortment of sweet rolls, orange and tomato juice, and coffee.  And then it was off for dock side and a trip to the Hato Caves and a tour of old downtown Willemstad, the capital of Curacao.

Our guide for the excursion was a black man named John Paul.  He said he was the black brother of the late Pope John Paul II, but offered no credentials.  However, he was an entertaining guide, knowledgeable, and told jokes as bad as mine.

At one point he asked if we had noticed that there were no children on the streets of Willemstad or the areas through which we were driving.  He said it is mandatory that young people go to school from the ages of 5 to 20.  If children are found outside of school, police take them back to school twice.  If they are found outside the third time, police take them back to school and then go issue a fine and citation to the parents.  He said, “We know that if our children do not grow up to have an education, they will not be able to contribute to society.”  I vote we bring John Paul to the U.S. of A. to reorganize our school system.  Also the children learn four languages.  They start off with their native Papiamento (that may not be speeled correctly) which is a combination of the languages from of all of the nations that Curacao has had contact with in the past.  Then they learn Dutch, English, and Spanish.  That is required of all school children, and the languages are introduced at defined stages in their educational careers.

Hato Caves is the only cave I have visited where we had to climb up to get into, and never went down on our journey.  The entrance is 49 steps, approximately 60 meters,  above sea level.  Perhaps used by the Arawaks, the original inhabitants of the island, or by runaway slaves, this limestone cave is full of formations.  And some original inhabitants still live in the cave – bats this time.  The cave has an opening at the top of the hillside that the bats use when flying out to control the local mosquito population.  Sadly photography is permitted in only two of the five chambers we could visit, and no postcards or pictures were available for sale.

Stepping outside and starting our journey back down the 49 nine steps (who wrote the novel “The 39 Steps”?) I had the feeling of deja vu all over again.  When we booked this excursion, Bonnie and I agreed we had done a tour of historic downtown, but had never been to the cave.  Looking out from the entrance to the Caribbean just a few hundred yards away, we decide that maybe we have visited there.  Bonnie will check her journals when we return to 233, or you, dear reader, can go back through these blogs to see if there is a reference to an earlier visit by your intrepid cruisers.

After wandering around the historic city for a while, and finally finding the Postal Museum for which we had searched in vain earlier, we checked out a couple of souvenirs and returned to the ship.  I only had a $10 bill when I went into the Museum and the curator graciously allowed me free entry because he did not have $8 change U.S.  Among the exhibits was a letter brought to Curacao from the Netherlands in 1934 on the first KLM airplane flight to the island.  It cost 1.12 Dutch guilders.  Is that a lot?

Lunch in the Windjammer was followed by an official nap in Stateroom 7135.  Now I am off to publish this, then pre-dinner trivia at 5:15, a production show by the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers at 7:15 and dinner at 8:30.  My talk on “Space: The Final Frontier” will be presented tomorrow at 2 p.m.

TTFN!

December 8, 2014

We got up at 7:30, did the morning toilet, and went to breakfast in the dining room.  I had eggs benedict – oh there’s no plate like chrome for the hollandaise – but I did not sing the song, nor tell the joke.  I am saving it for the next talk on our next sea day.

We strolled through beautiful downtown Bonaire for two hours and a little bit, buying a couple of souvenirs and enjoying the morning.  We found our first cannon of this cruise and took the required picture of Granny and the cannon.  There is another ship in port, this one from Germany, a cruise line I’ve never heard of – Mein Shippe 1.  Clever name.

The vendors out on the street are not near as pushy as the ones in Aruba.  The worst place is the Bahamas.  Worse than people trying to sell you fur hats in Red Square.  We resisted all offers of tours to the North side or the South side and just wandered in and out of shops.  We did go into a supermarket and found no Mello Yello.  We did spy a tin of salted Dutch butter for $10.25, a 5 pound wheel of Guda cheese for $40, and a Coke Zero for $1.75.  We bought the Coke.  One of our table mates said he was shopping for the butter and the cheese.

Bonnie bought pink flamingo bank to go with the pink flamingo salt and pepper shakers Matt and Carey brought her back from one of their sojourns.

When we got back on, we headed for lunch in the dining room.  Trouble is they weren’t serving lunch in the dining room, so we went up to the Windjammer.  The food is good up there, but it is always the same, and I enjoy the variety of the dining room, plus being waited on.  Well, we were on Deck 3.  The Windjammer is on 11, and I said we’d ride the elevator.  Bonnie said she would walk and beat me to 11.  I won, but by about 3 steps.  She must have been sprinting up the stairs flat out to win. We shared a table with 4 other couples and had a nice lunch.  Then off to the Champagne Lounge where I stretched out on the couch and took a nap while she crocheted.  Now it’s blog posting time.  Then pre-dinner trivia, our Headliner Show, and supper.  Oh what do the simple folk do?

Tomorrow is Curacao, one of our favorite islands.  We are taking a tour to the Hato Caves, and historic downtown.  Hopefully some good pictures and adventures to share tomorrow.

TTFN!

December 7, 2014

December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy. Before both the morning worship service and my Labadee talk I acknowledged the date and thanked those in the audience who had served, asking the service men and women to stand so we could honor them.

Crazy start to the day’s activities, however.  We had room service breakfast, which wasn’t crazy – quite good in fact – but when we got to the Palace Theater the Catholic service was still going on.  Father Bernard Kiratu had a good turnout, and I don’t know if he got started late, or just ran long, but his 8 o’clock was supposed to be over so my 8:45 could begin.  He wasn’t finished until after 8:45, and there were no technicians in the house to hook up my laptop, and the ship’s “church in a box” had no communion wafers.  Graciously Father Bernard gave me some of his, so we Protestants could come to the Table.

Not starting until about 9:15, I finished about 9:50, switched Power Points, and did the Labadee talk at 10:00.  Knowing the timing this morning would be close, I did my rehearsal last night, and a good thing I did or I would never have been ready.

We hung around until about 12:30 and went to lunch.  The ship cleared customs about 12:15, but we were in no rush to go ashore, so we went to the dining room and joined three other folk for lunch – a mom and dad in their 80s and their daughter, in her 50s.  What a complainer the daughter is!  Her milk wasn’t cold enough.  The soup was too salty.  The roast beef last night was too tough.  The meal the night before was not good at all.  And on and on.  I told Bonnie if we had been assigned to their table for our evening seating, we would have eaten one meal there and asked the Maitre d’hotel to move us.  Holy cow!

I did not tell you that after my first talk, a man came down at the question time and introduced himself as Allen Sisler from Friendsville, Maryland.  For those of you unfamiliar with The Old Line State, Friendsville is 20ish miles from Loch Lynn Heights.  We knew a clan of Sislers there, but this seems to be a different group.  Closed circuit to the Bro – when I mentioned Harold and the antique business, Allen said they were unrelated, and he knew of no Harold.  But I think he looks like the Harold Sislers.

And after my second talk, another man came up and told me that a Sisler from Terra Alta, WV (30 or so miles from home) was the best man in his wedding 40 some years ago.

Neither the Friendsville Group nor the Terra Altans issued from Grover Cleveland Sisler and Stella Mae Cooper, but in a small area like that, there is probably some connection a generation or so back.

But to get back to today.  We left the Explorer of the Seas at 1:45 and walked back on board at 2:45. 

I know there are folks reading this blog who think Aruba is the cat’s pajamas, but been there.  Done that.  And I must not be the only one who feels that way because a survey was placed in each cabin asking to rate all kinds of thing about our visit here.  I have never experienced that on any other cruise, or any other stop.  Maybe the cruise lines are rethinking their itineraries.  Bonnie and I were wondering if the islands make a deal with the cruise lines to bring folk, and people are complaining that they are not enjoying this stop.  Just guessing, but as for your favorite cruisers, it is not a stop that rates high on our list of favorites. 

As I said, we did an hour.  Bonnie bought $20 worth of souvenirs, and I bought one Coke Zero at her request and 5 Mountain Dew for myself (and we walked to a gas station to buy the drinks).  Big timers we are!  But when you are on a cruise ship, all is well!

Tomorrow is Bonaire, and Tuesday is Curacao.  We’ve booked a tour at Curacao, so we will have a picture or two then (it took over 15 minutes to get the pictures you’ve seen posted, so unless I find free wifi, there won’t be an enormous amount of pictures sent to you while we are sailing.  I’ll do a picture post from 233).

So while my beloved wife takes a nap I will go post this.

TTFN!

December 5, 2014

Good evening Mr. And Mrs. America and all ships at sea.  Stand by for news.

Not a bad intro, borrowed from two of our greatest newsmen – Walter Winchell and Paul Harvey (if you are too young, Google is ready when you are).

This blog is coming to you from Stateroom 7135 on the “Explorer of the Seas.” Day 2 of our final sailing for 2014.

They say that getting there is half of the fun.  I don’t know whether it is half or not, but it certainly was an adventure.

Frank (for those of you not acquainted with my new car, a 2013 Sonata, hence the nickname Frank: Frank Sonata – it was either Frank of “The Silver Bullet”) was loaded and headed south, having been toodling down Highway 25 for about 30 minutes when a cry of despair issued from the co-pilot’s seat – she had forgotten the patterns for the projects she intended to crochet on this trip.  The yarn was on board.  The needles were on board.  The patterns were still at 233 Woodland Drive.

No problem says I (your friendly neighborhood driver and blogger).  One quick U-turn professionally executed, traces restepped (or was it steps retraced) and we were once again on our way to Port Canaveral.

Somewhere north of Jacksonville we stopped for a break and to switch drivers.  I am sitting in the car waiting for Bonnie to return.  And waiting.  And when she finally appears she is laughing.  Not quite maniacal, but hilariously for certain.  It seems she came out of the ladies room, opened the backdoor of a silver car with a gray haired man in the passenger seat, and said, “Oops!  This is not our car and you are not my husband!”  But it was a silver car.

We reached our motel without further excitement, other than the horrendous traffic around Jacksonville, and went to Longhorn steak house where we consumed large portions of dead grass and dead cows.  A quick trip to a local shop for one more skein of yarn and it was off to bed.

Getting into Port Canaveral was only slightly less stressing than getting into Port Liberty.  You’d think a woman who climbs into strange cars with unknown men wouldn’t mind a little stop and go traffic, well actually, a lot of stop and go traffic.  But driving, literally four miles an hour, was stressing.  Seems like folks stayed on board the Explorer to watch the lift-off of the brand new Orion space craft – Cape Canaveral is only about 5 miles away from the cruise port, and it would have been a great vantage point.  However fuel issues and strong winds aloft delayed the launch and delayed our entry onto our ship.  We did bypass the unwashed masses to get our credentials and get on board, going straight to the Pier Coordinator while everyone else waited their turn with lesser agents.  Take that Crown and Anchor!

One of the first people we saw as we strolled down the Promenade (and we did look up at some windows where the guest were sitting in their window, but fully clothed) was Cornelia Bolocan, our friend from Romania.  She welcomed us with big hugs, and broke into a second big grin when we told her we had brought presents for her from Georgia.  Cornelia is a magnet collector (definitely not made of iron) and we are adding to her collection.  Since our suitcases were not yet in our room, we promised them to her during tonight’s Captain’s Reception – the first formal night of this cruise.

I gave my first talk today, “When Pirates Sailed the Atlantic” to about 200 folk in the Palace Theater.  Good, receptive crowd.  Tomorrow’s talk is “The ABC’s: Basic Paradise” – about Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.  I will do the protestant worship service Sunday and two more talks.  We have booked a historical excursion for Curacao and will explore Aruba and Bonaire on our own (we will do missionary work in neither island).

The ship has Christmas decorations up, so take a look at them and I’ll see you tomorrow night.

TTFN!

October 24, 2014

We are back on land, hanging out with the Bro and CJ.  Disembarking was easy, nothing more stressful than waiting our turn.  The only discombooberation was The Family from Hell.  A family of I don’t know how many, on board for a wedding – I saw the bride carrying her wedding gown off ship, wrapped in a plastic bag (the dress, not the bride, although it would have cut down the noise if it had been otherwise).  Other than grandma and granddad, everyone was yelling at each other, making threats, rude noises, and generally behaving like jerks.  And the bride and groom were high up the list in that last sentence.  Holy cow!

Bonnie, Danielle, Jess, and I had a farewell breakfast together.  They were great dinner companions.  We talked about sailing together again.  Make it so. 

Kyle didn’t have any trouble getting into the port.  Arriving at the port three weeks ago was a circus, but I guess we were earlier for departure.  “Elena” took us a different way leaving the port, and we saved a $13 toll.  Hopefully we can remember so we don’t have to go over the Bayonne Bridge anymore (and we have one sailing for next year out of New Jersey, and possibly two).

Traffic down Route 2 coming into Edgewater was horrendous, however, making up for Port Liberty.  It took us an hour to go 7.2 miles!  We bought in one suitcase, watched Jeopardy and Wheel and then played three games of set back – hoes 2, bros 1.  But tomorrow is another day. 

And December is another cruise.  Until then.

TTFN!

Bonnie, Jess, Danielle, David

October 21, 2014

Today we went ashore in St. John, New Brunswick, wandered around, went to a museum, visited a local craft shop, checked out several stores selling yarn, saw a couple of old churches, ate lunch and came back on board.  That may all sound boring, but it was an enjoyable day.  We know that a lot of folks are disappointed not to have sailed to Bermuda, but we have enjoyed two places we’ve never been, and I’m going to do some talks on the two stops, because there are regularly scheduled cruises, especially for Autumn Leaves (which drift by my window – autumn leaves of red and gold).

The fun began at supper.  We have a great table, and the two young ladies who sit to my left are certified hoots. 

They took a ship’s walking tour yesterday, and one of their fellow tourers was a young man who said his girlfriend was asleep in their cabin, and asked if he could walk with them and be their boyfriend for the day.  They agreed and had an enjoyable day.  After the tour, he invited them to go to the 70's Disco Street Party and meet his girlfriend.  I am waiting for the results of that. 

After dessert had been served Danielle’s cell phone rang.  It was a text message telling her she was roaming and the charge was $15 a minute.  With a small shriek of horror she realized that she left it on when she came back on board, and it had been racking up roaming for four hours for a total of $3600!  Oh my goodness!

Jess and Danielle have lots of fun making a list of the things Bonnie and I have never done.  The whole table was talking one night about going to Disney World.  We’ve never been there.  Danielle said, “We’ll have to take a cruise and take you there.”  Last night was the Bon Jovi tribute act.  The table was talking about all of the rock concerts they’ve been to.  We’ve never been to a rock concert.  So we are definitely arranging a cruise to Disney World because they have rock concerts there.  Las Vegas.  Nope.  And it goes on.  They have great fun with our world travels now as retirees, but stay-at-homes before.  But I have them wanting to sail with us in December.  Whether they are serious or not, I don’t know, but they said they would check their calendars.  Good times.

Well, one more day at sea, one more talk, one more night at Table 346, and then we turn into pumpkins.

TTFN!

Rock carving in Peggy's Cove

Changing of the guards at the Citadel

Bonnie and friend

A clock in St. John

Stained glass in Trinity Cathedral

Trinity Cathedral

October 19, 2014

We are sailing for Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving there in the morning at 7 a.m. their time (6 a.m. yours).  We will be in port for 8 hours, and Bonnie and I will be ashore for 6.5 hours of the time.  We have booked the “Best of Halifax & Peggy’s Cove” tour.  We will board a motor coach and be told entertaining, but little known facts about the city as we drive to picturesque Peggy’s Cove.  There we will either walk along the cove, or tour the rugged coast line at our leisure.  Then it’s back to the city for a lunch at Murphy’s Restaurant (I hope nothing goes wrong) on the Halifax waterfront, followed by a trip to the Maritime Museum (where more than 100 Titanic victims are buried), then the Citadel Fortress (where no Titanic victims are buried) and back to the Explorer of the Seas (no Titanic victims here either).  Photos tomorrow.  No word whether we will actually see Peggy.

To catch you up with our final (SADNESS) cruise for this time, we are at a good table for supper with Danielle and Jess (D brought J to celebrate J’s 21st birthday) and with a family of three from Savannah.  The wait staff at Table 346 cannot hold the menus for Anthony and Svetomir (from our last cruise) but at least they brought out our food in a correct, and timely manner.

We did lunch in the dining room today.  I am really tired of the Windjammer.  It’s okay for breakfast when I don’t have a lot of time – like this morning, getting ready for an 8:45 a.m. worship service – but the food never changes.  It’s good, but it’s the same from day to day.  We were the first to a table for 8 and were joined by Dave, Allen, Irene, Trisha, Sam, and Mama (Mama speaks no English, or at least did not join in the conversation).  The kids are all friends from New York, on their second cruise together.  They packed Friday night before boarding the ship on Saturday.  My kind of packing, but when you are 30 minutes from the port, you can do that easier than packing to leave from 233 Woodland Drive.

To compensate guests because of the diversion from Bermuda, and the damage sustained there from Hurricane Gonzalo, Royal Caribbean has credited each stateroom’s on board account with $250.  Because that channel has been constantly busy and because the line at Guest Services has been back across the bridge and past the elevators, we don’t know yet if we got it, too.  Chances are not, but since we don’t know yet, our fingers are still crossed.  Slim has not yet left town.

Well, my first talk is in one hour and 15 minutes in the Schooner Bar (I hope the patrons don’t become unruly when the football game is switched off).  I will rehearse once more, and then we will put on our formal clothes for this evening’s champagne reception with Captain James (free champagne is not worth drinking), supper and a production show (if we are still awake at 10:45). 

Below are pictures from Peggy's Cove:  Bonnie bundled up.  And Peggy's Cove, plus the Lighthouse.

TTFN!

October 17, 2014

Well, we are about 10 hours out of Port Liberty.  We will be an hour late because the feeder bands from Gonzalo were making the seas rough and Captain James slowed down to keep the wibble and wobble out of the Explorer of the Seas.  Probably be an hour late leaving, too.

As you might imagine, based on the hammering Bermuda is getting now, we are not going to the South Atlantic and the Caribbean next week.  Instead we are heading to Canada: Halifax and St. Johns.  And I have changed my talks to non-Caribbean themes.  I’ll be doing an old one “Literary New England” about famous writers who lived there, and some bits and pieces from their works, plus making fun of the language they crafted so well.  The second, and only other talk, will be “Space: The Final Frontier” about the early days of the manned space program.  The first is the only one itinerary specific, but when you change a cruise like RCCL has had to do, you do the best you can.  And I’ll be doing the worship service at 8:45 – wake up, saints!

Tonight two of our table mates finally showed up: Rob and Lisa from New Yak.  Really nice kids, wish they’d been with us the whole time.  This was their third cruise and the first time they’ve eaten in the dining room.  They said they won’t make that mistake again and will be sure to be in the dining room on their next cruise.

Our waiters, Anthony and Svetomir, from India and Serbia, were fantastic.  The best we’ve had cruising in a long, long time.  Great guys.  Super service.

We are packed and ready to move back to Old 9483.  Crazy system.  We started there.  This week they brought on a bridge instructor and instead of giving him this room, they gave him 483, and we move back to 483 for the next cruise.  Needless to say, one of us was not pleased.  We were packed in less than an hour, and it won’t take much longer to put everything back out tomorrow, so all is well.

And speaking of going back to the old – we will be back at Table 346 next cruise.  Hopefully our waiters will move down stairs, too.  They are rated based on guest response, and the third floor dining room is the place to be.  They are both recently back from vacation, so the likelihood of moving down this soon is slim.  But one never knows.  Do one?

Hopefully below is a picture of our waiters and a couple of views from the ice show.  That’s really fantastic.

Well, I will blog Sunday after my talk, and will check email sometime Saturday. 

TTFN!

 

October 15, 2014

Well, I ran out of internet time yesterday trying to post the pictures from Puerto Rico, so I just put another $30 on my Sea Pass Card in order to send those, and today’s pictures from Labadee, and anything else we may do in the next couple of days.  I may end up doing some surfing because the time doesn’t carry over to the next cruise.

Speaking of surfing, of which I have done none since coming on board, has there been any movement in the signing of Russell Martin.  I know the baseball season is still underway and free agency doesn’t start until following the World Serious, but I was wondering if anyone in the Burgh is talking.

We wandered off today in 90 degree heat and a lot of humidity for about 90 minutes – looked around, bought a couple of souvenirs, ate lunch, came back on board and took a nap.  Exciting folk we are.

Thanks to our re-routes we have enjoyed smooth waters and clear skies while our old destinations of St. Martin, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda have gotten, or are getting, hammered.  I was chatting with the cruise director today and he said we may make some adjustments next cruise to avoid the storms.  I told him what talks I have with me to use in an altered sailing, and he was appreciative.

We were talking to someone at lunch today who said they sailed on this ship, not under good Captain James, but slightly demented Captain Olaf who sailed through the outskirts of a hurricane saying this is a big ship and she can take it.  Glad we are that Olaf is off somewhere else.

The Captain just came on, speaking of storms and route changes and said we would be following Hurricane Gonzalo as we sail back to Bayonne.  The storm will be off to our starboard side (that’s the right side for you land lubbers) and about 250 nautical miles away as we journey north.  We may get some weather from the outside feeder bands, but nothing to be concerned about.

Bermuda, however, looks like it is going to get clobbered.  The storm is tracking directly for the island and will be a Category 3 when it gets there.  We are significantly to the left of the storm, and the Captain said if the storm should change direction to the left, he will turn towards Florida to keep us out of the path.

Last night’s Headliner was “Blaze of Glory, North America’s Premier Bon Jovi Tribute.”  I’ll have to take their word for it, since I’ve never seen BJ, and other than Straight to the Heart, I have no idea what they sang.  I will say this for them.  They are LOUD!!  A number of folks moved back from the front rows or left the theater entirely.  I am proud to say that after the second song, I took a nap.

Tonight’s Headliner Show is an Elton John tribute.  The performer is billed as having a unique blend of music and comedy and will give us his renowned, tongue-in-cheek tribute to Thir Elton.

The Crocheting Granny is making another hand bag.  One of the dining room staff saw hers and asked if she could have one.  So it is underway.

TTFN!

PUERTO RICO PICTURES

October 13, 2014

Well our visit to the home of Roberto Clemente was cut short by Tropical Storm Guido or Geronimo or Gustov or somebody.  The depression that was east of St. Martin became a tropical storm with prediction of becoming a full blown hurricane.  Because of that, and because of the fact that the storm is heading west, Puerto Rico was in a stand-by mode of closing the port.  If the outer winds of the new storm reach a certain level, the port is closed, and all ships in port must sail out – makes no sense to me, but, it’s their way.

Walking up one of the Callie’s in Old San Juan, we visited a hotel that had been a convent, and the oldest church on the island, and the governor’s mansion and government headquarters.  As we were toodling up to Fort El Morro, some folks coming back stopped us and asked us if we were going to the fort.  They had been at my talk today.  We answered that we were and they told us not to bother because the fort was closed.  Columbus Day.  Boy, howdy!  He sailed by, never got off the boat, got two monuments built to his memory and a third coming next year and the government offices, museums and forts were all closed!  The Dooney & Burke store was open and my traveling companion refused to make a purchase, even though her choice was 30% off.  I tried!

And Big Brown was working.  Bonnie spoke to the driver who was working the street where we were and he said, “Si!”

While wandering up the aforementioned Callie, we visited the Pigeon Park.  Must have been 200 of the coo-ers in residence, patrolling the grounds for handouts and flying into holes in the wall where they make their nests.

Our only purchases were a baseball cap for me (since I brought only my straw hat and was wearing my Roberto Clemente shirt, I wasn’t going to be seen in that combination) and two canned caffeinated beverages.  Total $10.  But it was a contribution to the local economy.

Walking around a number of residents commented on my Clemente shirt.  One old man saying, “He is our hero.”  Ours, too, I assured him.

When we got back to our stateroom, the message light was flashing on our phone.  Since I’d already spoken to the activities director about tomorrow’s schedule, I was understandably curious.  One of our fellow cruisers asked me to perform the wedding for his daughter and her fiancé.  I introduce myself as a retired UM Clergyman, plus I did the church service, so he knew of my background.  I told him I would be delighted to do so, if the captain gave his approval.  I am waiting for the cruise director to let me know.  Of course, the couple will have to listen to the “Three Ship” speech (ask Michael and Ivy).

Post Script on the above paragraph: The request was turned down by the ship since yours truly is a guest on board and not an employee of Royal Caribbean.

The ship’s orchestra went into the Maharaja Lounge tonight and played Big Band Music.  We sat and listened to such standards as “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B,” “A Train,” and “Sentimental Journey.”  Some more limber guests danced.  The band did not play “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” or “Tennessee Waltz.”  Sadness.

So, all aboard was 8:30.  We didn’t sail till almost 9:30 because one guest had to be taken off with a medical emergency.  We got to eat supper watching the city lights and when we got underway, it was fun to watch the lights sail slowly by. 

A good meal tonight.  The appetizers we chose were crab cakes and cream of mushroom soup.  Yummy.  Although we are alone at our table for eight, we are enjoying ourselves, and we have excellent waiters who make the meal time fun.

It has been my observation while cruising that a number of my fellow guests think that the good folk at Royal Caribbean should hold the Kleenex to their noses and the toilet paper to their old wazooes.  Demanding.  Unthankful.  Discourteous.  Today a couple was at the Guest Relations desk complaining that we weren’t staying overnight in San Juan after being promised the same and after missing St. Martin.  The woman said, “Well!  Our cruise next year will not be on Royal Caribbean!”  Lady, I thought, didn’t you hear the captain say he was getting us out of the way of two tropical storms, one well on its way to becoming a hurricane.  You go play in the middle of the street if you want to.  I am content to be toodling along safe and sound.  Good grief!

Tomorrow is a day at sea.  My talk on Labadee is at 3 p.m. and sometime between now and then, or sometime after then, depending on how the seas flow and the waves roll, I will post this.  Until then...

TTFN!

October 12, 2014

A brief post.

Captain James sailed south and west to get away from Tropical Storm Fay, and now we are too far away from St. Martin to make our call there on time.  Instead we are sailing directly for San Juan and will arrive there around 1 p.m. tomorrow.  We will stay over night and sail for Labadee at 2 p.m. on Tuesday – along with the medical staff, the tractor beams, and the photon torpedoes (cheap Star Trek reference).

In addition to Fay to the West of St. Martin, there is a tropical depression to the east of that island that will bring bad weather by late Monday or early Tuesday.  By taking the course he has, our captain has kept us out of the paths of two bad storms.  And over night in the land of Roberto Clemente is not a bad thing.

TTFN!

October 11, 2014

Strange things afloat today me hearties.  Actually Captain James told us this morning that a tropical storm is brewing south of us, and the winds that are blowing in our direction caused us to be late to dock in Bermuda this morning.  Because of that and a slower required approach speed, all aboard is 2:30 and its anchors aweigh at 3:00.

The Captain said we will be sailing west and then south to go around Tropical Storm Fay.  The storm is going north and east, so we will, in effect, be circling behind her.  Once we get past the storm, we will head south and east to St. Martin.  We are supposed to dock there at 1 p.m. on Monday, but detour may make us late.  Time will tell.  But what is time to a hog.

If he hadn’t made the announcement you would still know that rough seas are ahead.  Barf bags are hung in all the stair ways.  But he said we should be beyond the areas of roughest waves by midnight.  So batten down the hatches.

Bonnie and I stayed in the Dockyard area today.  We went to play Fun Golf this morning – a very interesting miniature golf course.  The first six holes are patterned after Bermuda golf courses, the 2nd 6 after American golf courses (#12 is the 12th at Augusta National – we both shot par 3s) and the 3rd 6 are courses from Scotland including a hole from Muirfield and one from the Old Course.  I won.  Bonnie beat me on the Scots section, but I built up a lead on the American courses and we were pretty even on the Bermuda side.  Bragging rights to your humble scribe.

The pictures below are of the 12th and of me addressing the ball.

Tomorrow I will lead the worship service in the Palace Theater at 9 a.m. and then we will be back in the Theater at 2 p.m. for my talk on St. Maartins.

Still just the two of us at Table 464 last night, but our waiter, Anthony said he was going to talk to the headwaiter and see if he could head some scattered souls to our table for a more enjoyable dining experience.

At breakfast this morning – seating is much better at breakfast and lunch because they fill up a table and then start seating guests at another table – there was a family of four from Germany who missed my talk and asked me questions about how to get around.  I was glad to assist them.  And the other couple at the table had been to the talk yesterday – which is how the Germans knew they had missed it – and said they were going to strike out for St. George’s as per my recommendations.  The lady who was going to St. George’s had Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce.  Bonnie wouldn’t let me tell the hub cap joke.  How rude!  Maybe I’ll get EB with HS tomorrow and sing the song anyway.

Well, it’s almost sail away time, so we’re going to watch and then I’ll post this.

TTFN!

October 10, 2014

Day 2, underway to Bermuda, Philipsburg, San Juan, Labadee, and Kukamonga.

Our table of 8 for second seating last night was supposed to have 8 folks seated.  Instead there were 4 – your humble sailing family and Dudley Do-Right of the Canadian Mounted Police and Fern, his female companion.  Moments after we sat down, Fern – whose arms, and front and back as far as one can see, and one could see farther than one wanted to see, was covered with tattoos of ferns – got up and went to speak to the Maitre D.  She is tattooed in ferns.  No hearts.  No parental nicknames.  No friends or lovers nicknames.  No pirates.  No skulls.  No sports teams.  Ferns.  And there were lots of them because Fern is very wide.  DUDley sat there saying nothing, grunting occasionally when we tried to make conversation.  When Fern came back she announced, “We are at the wrong table.  We are supposed to be at 494, not 464.”  And they left, leaving us alone.

When Anthony, our waiter came back with menus, we repeated what Fern said, and he said, “No.  They wanted a table for 2.”

So she’s a lying Fern in addition.

It’s not unusual for folks to miss the first night, especially second seating, so we’ll see if the other 4 people show up tonight.  If not we will ask the Maitre D to move us to a fuller table.  Maybe we’ll find Fern and DUDley (they did not get a table for 2, but a table for 4 with no one else assigned to it).  Or not.

My talk today on “King’s Wharf” was in the Princess Theater, and well attended.  Approximately 200 hearty souls joining me for whirl around Bermuda.  Instead of taking questions from the audience – hard to do in a room that size – I invited them to come down and talk to me at the conclusion.  I answered questions for about 30 minutes – a good response, I thought.

Bonnie brought a number of crocheting projects.  So far she has finished one pair of bedroom slippers (which one of you will find in your Christmas stocking) and a hat (which will not appear in a Christmas stocking).

I told you we had to move to a different stateroom.  Same size, interior cabin, but a mirror image of our first one.  The desk and closet are on the left side, the bathroom on the right.  The door opens with a left hand pull instead of a right hand pull.  It took a few minutes of getting used to, especially in the dark, but we have survived into our second day.

TTFN!

October 8, 2014

I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is we have to move.  The good news is, the new stateroom is on this same floor and on the same hall way.  The bad news is my traveling companion was less than thrilled.  The good news is we are all packed and they will move our stuff in the morning.  The good news is we get to stay on for another two cruises!  Yeah!!

We went to the ice show today, “Spirits of the Seasons.”  What a fantastic show.  It’s the third time we’ve seen it.  If this keeps up we will catch up to our “Cats!” total of 14.  And we’ll see it twice more before we come home.  The ice rink is one-sixth the size of a normal rink and the skaters do all the tricks – doubles, triples, and other incomparable stuff – that is done on Olympic ice.  The costumes are fall, winter, spring and summer, with music and choreography to match.  In the winter scene, they play an appropriate sleigh ride song, and get two kids out of the audience to ride in the sleighs.  The photos may be a touch blurry, but you’ll get an idea of the performance.

My last talk for this cruise, “Flight 19 and the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle” was once again in the Schooner Bar, and again to a full house.  Even the bartender was watching.  I am told that a new corporate Vice President is taking talks off of 5 day cruises.  If the sizes of my audiences are any indication, the folks enjoy having that option.  But he didn’t ask me.  Oh well.

The final show and the final meal for this cruise are coming up soon.  I had lobster at supper last night and Bonnie had prime rib.  Oh what do the simple folk do?  (Name the musical for bonus points).

Tomorrow we are going to try to breakfast in the dining room, and then we will go off ship for a few minutes, go through customs and come back on board.  I don’t know if I will post a blog tomorrow or not, but check back.

TTFN!

October 7, 2014

After breakfast (a bacon, ham and cheese omelet for me, and tomato, ham and cheese omelet for Bonnie) we bought ferry tokens and rode up to Hamilton.  The purpose of our excursion was to visit the Bermuda Art Museum’s exhibit “A View from the Edge.”  The first exhibit was a piece by local artist Amil Zanders entitled “When the Bough Breaks.”  A large portion of the work is made up of crocheted circles – and an inspiration for another work by local cruiser Bonnie Belle.

We also stopped at a small museum which houses intricate models of the “Sea Venture” – the ship which brought the original settlers to Bermuda (via a hurricane and a shipwreck), and models of the two smaller craft which the survivors made out of the wreckage (the “Deliverance” and the “Patience”) and then sailed on to Jamestown Colony in Virginia, completing the mission for which they sailed almost a year earlier.

While sailing into Hamilton’s harbor, we noticed a large church rising over the tops of the waterfront building and made that part of our trip.  We walked up to The Anglican Church of Bermuda and went inside.  It is a magnificent structure completed in 1911.  The original building was constructed in 1855, but was destroyed by an arsonist.  The photographs are the altar taken from the nave, and the pulpit.  Behind the high altar are 15 statues.  Jesus is in the center.  Luke is the 5th from the left.

After returning to the Explorer of the Seas we had lunch in the Windjammer, having arrived back on board too late to go to the dining room.  Closed circuit for Mary and Judy – we witnessed water balloons (imported from Montreal to the Explorer).

After lunch two ladies stopped us to thank me for the talk on Bermuda.  One of them said as they were on a bus driving around the island she was pointing out things and talking about them and when asked how she knew so much she said, “I went to the lecture on King’s Wharf.”  My head swelled.

As I type this it is 10 minutes until “all aboard.”  I will give my second talk of this voyage – “Flight 19 and the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle” – tomorrow, and then we dock in New Jersey on Thursday before sailing back to Bermuda and points east.

Until tomorrow, then.

TTFN!

October 6, 2014

We slept in until 8:30 this morning.  After shower, shave and shampoo we went to the Windjammer for breakfast.  Oatmeal for me, scrambled eggs for my beloved wife.  About 10:30 we headed into Bermuda, purchasing a transportation pass, and boarding the ferry for St. George’s.

We wandered around Bermuda’s first capital, checking out a yarn shop (where we bought nothing) and a drug store (where we bought 4 Arrow Words magazines – Bonnie’s favorite word puzzles).  We made a return visit to St. Peter’s church – the oldest Anglican church in the British Isles and the longest serving protestant church in the New World. 

We also visited Somers Garden for the first time.  It was here that the leader of the original group of settlers on Bermuda died, and his heart was buried.  The rest of him was put in a barrel of rum and sent back to England for burial.

Before catching Bus 11 to Hamilton, the current capital, Bonnie posed beside of a red PT Cruiser – the Chili Pepper 2.  After lunch in Hamilton we took the ferry back to the Royal Naval Dockyard and boarded the Explorer of the Seas for a well-deserved afternoon nap.  In a few minutes it is off to the evening show and supper.

TTFN!

October 5, 2014

Day 2, first day at sea, on our way to Bermuda.

I had my first talk of two for this cruise today.  There are only two full sea days, so only two talks.  Today “King’s Wharf: The Gibraltar of the East,” and Wednesday, “Flight 19 and the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle.”  I sent RCCL 4 talks and they picked these.  Two good ones for this itinerary.

My talks are in the Schooner Bar, Deck 4 aft.  We’ve never been in a bar to do a talk before.  Bonnie and I do have bar experience, since 46 and then some years ago I picked her up in a bar.  We weren’t sure what the crowd would be like or how the talk would go in the room, but there were nearly 100 folk in attendance – one of our larger talks.  And with the bar in the back of the room they could get snockered and laugh at my corney jokes (no, I did not tell the Hub Cap Joke).

Our dinner mates at Table 346, second seating are a family from New Jersey, father, mother, son and daughter-in-law.  The kids booked the trip for their parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary.  And came along.  Hint.  Hint.

Church yesterday morning was good except for the fact that the person who put the PowerPoint together left the music for one of the hymns at 233, and left the words for another one at the same 233.  So I will have to redo the slides for the next service.  We had a good time.  The only other snafu, and I need to inform the activities director, his staff had not prepared “Church in a Box” – in other words, the communion set and the elements were not in attendance.

Bonnie has already completed one crocheting project, a blue coin purse.  Other projects to be completed are: a belt, two bags, a hat, and several coasters.

Our stateroom, 9483 is at the aft end of the ship.  There is only a corridor and balcony rooms behind us.  To be farther rear would to be on a ski rope being pulled behind the ship.  But it is the “speaker’s room” – so our cabin attendant Anne Marie tells us – and therefore we don’t have to move (unless a wedding part comes on, and surely we won’t have to do that again).

After the delay getting through the traffic jam that is Port Liberty Drive (took us an hour to drive less than a mile) we were on board around 1:15 and in our room by 1:30.  And what to my wondering eyes did appear, but three large suitcases outside our door.  We’ve never had our luggage delivered so quickly.  We soon filled every drawer, hanger and shelf in the room.  Thus organized we went to the Windjammer for our first meal.  Grilled fish for me.  Roast beef for She Who Must Be Obeyed.

And now it’s time to get dressed in our formal gear, go to the Captain’s reception, turn down bad tasting champagne, and then go to dinner.  We have the late show at 10:45 tonight.  There may be two cruisers sleeping through “Wild, Cool, and Swinging: From Las Vegas to New York. A tour of America’s favorite play grounds.”

TTFN

ALL ASHORE THAT’S GOING ASHORE


Today we are going to risk a catastrophe that would exceed the destruction of the world by the end of the Mayan calendar.  The only thing comparable in recorded human history may be the invasion of VBS by the SSE (sitters, squatters, and eaters).  To end the nail biting, hair pull, child thrashing, teeth gnashing suspense – are you ready for it – your friendly neighborhood scribe is going to wear shorts ashore, braving the Nassau sun, crazed mosquitos and other vermin, and increasing the stock in Johnson and Johnson by the application of several pounds of SPF 70.  Yes, you read it here first: David “White Legs” Sisler is baring it all.  Or most of it. 

But before we get to today’s adventure, let’s go into the Great Gatsby Dining Room and meet the other 5 folk who sit at Table 322, Second Seating.  We are capably served by our waiter, Carlos, and our junior waiter, Osman.  Joining us are Jack, a member of Royal Caribbean’s Pinnacle Club.  To gain that status, and he was recognized two nights ago as the cruiser on board with the most bookings, he had to sail on at least 100 different cruises with RCI.  A quite likeable fellow, he completes the trio of Medicaid recipients at the table.  Also with us are a family of four from Baltimore: Mobie and Larry, the husband and wife, mom and dad, of their family, and their two college students, Dee and Zara.  Mobie keeps the house.  Larry is an engineer with a job so secretive he is not allowed to carry a smart phone – only the old fashion flip phone with no camera.  Dee is studying business, and Zara still working through career options.  Sharp kids both.  They will do well.

Before I forget it, closed circuit to the August cruisers.  Junkanoo Beach is a 20 minute walk from the dock (the old people did it in 30 minutes – young, non-surgically repaired legs should make better time).  Nice place to work on your tan, and for free.

We are one of three ships in port today – Carnival Fantasy, Disney Dream, and the Lady G.  Together we have added 6-7,000 souls to the population of Nassau.  The shops close at 5:30.  We don’t sail until 11:30.  I think the good businessmen are leaving profit on the table.  Oh well.

Doing the talks and worship services on board, I am dependent on the help and efficiency  of the crew, and I have always been well served.  Today I was given a gift by one member of the crew for the help he said I gave to him.  It was a simple kindness, easily rendered, but he thought enough of it to give me a very nice Royal Caribbean pen (no, this one does not go to the collection at Greenwich Pass).

Well, here we are on Day 5 of our cruise and we have once again missed Coco Cay.  We are 1 for 3 in our scheduled stops to Royal Caribbean’s private island.  This time we were chased away by Tropical Storm Arthur.  Captain Esben told us he made the call at 6 a.m. (we were scheduled to arrive at 8 a.m.) because of the weather.  He increased speed and changed direction and we have steamed around and head of the storm.  Its relative speed compared to ours has put us ahead of it where we will be safely back in Baltimore – on schedule – before it would be a threat to us.

Because of this, I did my emergency talk, “Flight 19 and the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle,” to a packed house.

At breakfast this morning we were seated at a table for two, and at the adjacent table was one of the worshipers from Sunday morning.  Melody and her husband, Ben, are soon to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary, and her dad, who is a pastor, was going to do a renewal service for them on Coco Cay.  She asked me if there was a place on board they could use since we weren’t going ashore.  I asked Darrell, the Activities Director, and he pointed them to the Viking Crown Lounge.  Glad to be of service.

Day 6 and we joined with some other folks and won the Broadway Music Trivia.  What is Cats?  We scored 25 out of 30, blowing the competition away.

It is 4:30 p.m. as I write this and we sailed into the Chesapeake Bay about an hour ago, about 6 hours ahead of schedule.  We will dock around 1 a.m., but will disembark at the regular time, somewhere around 9 Friday morning.  The Captain has done an excellent job keeping us out of the way of the storm.  His last weather report said Arthur should be heading out to sea.  I hope so since we will be driving back to Georgia on Friday, and would not like to drive in hurricane conditions.

For the first time on this cruise we went to the dining room for lunch (usually go to the Windjammer buffet or Café Park).  Two of our table mates are members of the Williamsport Maryland Church of God.  How about that for the small world department?  In case you didn’t know, that was the church where Bonnie grew up and where Lloyd Abbott married us almost 46 years ago.  Bonnie and the couple exchanged names, but knew no one in common.  But still, pretty neat.

I will put a few pictures at the end of this posting – I am tired of fighting the site to get pictures to go where I want them.  Maybe back on dry land I will figure it out.

Closing out until the next posting around October 4th from the Explorer of the Seas.

TTFN!

Junkanoo Beach Nassau. 30 minute walk on old legs.

Hey Mac! Granny found a cannon!

Aerial show in the Centrum

Mobe, Larry, Dee, Zara. Great table mates.

Von. Sound tech. Trivia caller. Great guy.

Selfie in Nassau